25 Facts About Me

I’m back from a few fabulous days away from the blog. My kids have been away with Grandparents for a few days and my husband took a few days off work so we’ve been busy having a good spring clean and lot’s of lovely time together. Sometimes it’s nice to just take a few days away from the internet, which pays such a big part in everyone’s lives these days. The time offline has given me time to come up with lot’s of new ideas and I feel more inspired than I have for a very long time.

I thought I’d come back with a personal post as I haven’t shared much about myself for ages, so one of the list of 30 blog post ideas I came up with this week was a 25 facts about me post. When I think about it it’s quite hard to think of anything interesting but I’ve done my best.

1. I am 28 years old, not sure where the last 8 years of my twenties has gone, but I still feel about 19. Having 2 kids getting married and buying a house hasn’t made me feel grown up at all.

2. I have two little girls, who are 8 and nearly 3, I always wanted girls so I was delighted that they were both girls. I didn’t plan to have such a big age gap and sometimes it can be hard to keep them both happy at the same time, but they are the most rewarding little people ever.

3. I have a phobia of combs. This is a bit of a weird one, but I really hate them. It all started a few years back when I saw an old comb on a train track with loads of teeth missing and covered in dirt. A few days later I spotted another one in a skip and now I spot manky old combs all the time and I hate them! Now I’ve mentioned it you’ll start spotting them too!

4. I’ve been best friends with Fay from Blog a Book Etc since we were about 12, and we’re like sisters. We know everything about each other and my husband has to put up with us constantly having girlie evenings eating Haribo and watching Sex and The City. I’m really lucky to have such an amazing friend. She’s one of the people who inspired me to start blogging, as she’s been writing blogs for years.

5. I first met my husband when I was 15 and we even went out for a little bit as teenagers. Over the years we often talked and ran into each other, and after kissing one too many frogs I had a realisation that he was the only man for me. We got married when we were 22 and couldn’t be happier, it just goes to show that the perfect partner can be right there all along, without you realising it!

Our wedding day – nearly 6 years ago!

6. I love Primark, despite being completely obsessed with vintage fashion and one-off clothing, I cannot help but dive into my local Primark store with relish. I love being able to get lovely things without spending too much and I always find great bits to compliment my vintage pieces. I’m not a fashion snob at all.

7. I am an expert on lingerie –  when I left school at 17 I took the first job which came my way, which just happened to be at Rigby and Peller a luxury lingerie shop in London. While I was there I learned everything there was to know about bra and lingerie fitting, I went on to work for Bravissimo as a fitter and have also worked at a company who specialise in post breast cancer surgery bras, so if you ever need lingerie advice I’m your girl! It can be a bit of a burden as everywhere I go I notice people wearing the wrong size bras and I really want to tell them.

8. I used to be skinny and blonde, before I had Lila I was really tiny but since having her my baby weight stayed on. I lost it really quickly after Jess with very little effort. I am not one to diet, although I do like to eat healthy food and exercise. I have to say, my weight has never been something that I’m really bothered about and I actually prefer being more curvy. As for the blonde, I kind of miss it!

I think I was about 10 weeks pregnant with Lila in this picture, it was taken at Reading Festival in 2010. I really miss the blonde. It might have to make a come-back for the summer!

9. I love buying ridiculously high-heeled shoes, but never wear them. They do however look very pretty in my wardrobe, I just like having comfortable feet.

10. I’m addicted to audio books, when you spend all your time running around after little people, running a house and writing a blog, you find yourself left with very little time for reading. So now I always have an audio book on the go to get my book fix.

11. I have two cats named Oscar and Beppe. Oscar is a gorgeous ginger Maine Coon who was from the litter of one of my friends cats, he is absolutely huge and eats us out of house and home. Beppe used to be a stray cat who would come and eat Oscar’s food. He was in very poor condition and clearly needed to be loved. One day he seemed really poorly so we contacted the RSPCA and got him the treatment to get better. After that we adopted him and he is now healthy and happy and in a loving home. He is called Beppe because of his remarkable resemblance to Michael Grecco.

Oscar – the crazy fluffy one.

12. My favourite bands are Blur and The Smiths. I’ve loved Blur ever since the mid nineties and the heyday of Britpop. I got into The Smiths slightly later and I have seen Morrisey live loads of times. I knew Rob was the man for me when The Smiths came on in his car and we realised we both loved their music. My best date ever was a few years ago when Rob took me to Blur’s come back gig in Hyde Park, which was one of the best days I’ve ever had.

13. I collect books about Princess Charlotte. If you’ve been reading this blog since the early days you may already know about my obsession with Princess Charlotte. She was the daughter of George IV and would have been queen had she not died in childbirth at the age of 21. I read a book about her years ago and was fascinated by her life. So I began buying every book I could on her. It’s now become a huge collection which some very old and rare books. The earliest was published in 1817 and I have nearly every book written on her now.

14. I love history. As you can probably tell from no 13 I have a passion for history, particularly Georgian and Regency history. I am forever reading books and watching documentaries on the era. I also love visiting stately homes and my ideal weekend is spent making good use of my National Trust membership.

Beautiful Claremont House – the former home of Princess Charlotte

15. My favourite film is Baz Luhrmans’s Romeo and Juliet. I remember getting the video when it first came out and I actually watched it everyday for nearly a year. I could recite it off my heart despite not watching it for quite a while now. I’m a bit of a Leonardo DiCaprio fan anyway but I love the presentation of Baz Lurhman’s films and also love Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby for their modern interpretations of historical themes. Plus the soundtracks are fantastic.

16. My favourite book is Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. I first read it when I was 17 and found it both poignant and very very funny and it’s stayed a firm favourite ever since. Other than that I love all the books of Nancy Mitford and have read them all at least once.

17. I am terrified of heights. I’ve always been pretty scared of heights but it’s got much worse in recent years. It’s something I’d like to overcome as it stops me doing things I would love to do. I also humiliated myself last year when I took Jessica on the London Eye and started crying because I was so scared. As a Londoner I would love to go to the top of St Paul’s, climb the Monument and see the views from The Shard and I can’t do any of these. Might have to try hypnosis!

18. I have annoyingly thick hair. I come from a family of very healthy hair follicles! We all have really thick hair and although it is lovely hair, there’s just too much of it. Curling my hair takes forever and I struggle with up-dos as there too much hair to hide! When it’s done I love it but it’s very hard work!

19. In between my jobs in lingerie I started window dressing for a living. It started when the shop I was working in needed a window dresser and I volunteered as I’ve aways loved making displays. I went on to do an evening course at The London College of Fashion and for a couple of years before becoming a mum I worked as a senior Visual Merchandiser in a department store. It was the most fun job ever and it really didn’t feel like work. I would love to go back to it when the kids are older.

20. I once ran 10 miles. In 2009 I completed the Great South Run to raise money for the MS society, it was one of hardest challenges I’ve ever taken on and going from being a novice runner to gradually training for the event it was a big achievement. I’d love to start running again as I haven’t gone for a run for a very very long time.

21. My favourite places in England are Bath – because it is the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited and it has the most fascinating history.It’s also the setting for a couple of my favourite Jane Austen books. Brighton – because I love the mix of British seaside, vintage shopping and regency history. And Claremont Landscape Garden in Esher – because it’s beautiful, makes a perfect family day out and it used to be Princess Charlotte’s garden.

As for the rest of the world, my idea of Paradise are the beaches in Goa, where I travelled when I was 18. My other favourite’s are the amazing Gaudi architecture in Barcelona and the theme parks in Florida, all places I am desperate to get back to. There is however no place quite like London and no matter where I go I love my city best in all the world.

The beautiful Royal Crescent in Bath in the snow

22. I hate school runs. If someone had told me how much work mornings would be I’d have either not had kid’s or considered home schooling. Seriously though, getting myself and two kids fed, dressed, teeth brushed, hair done, school bag packed before 8.30 is a major operation – EVERY DAY! Once I’ve done it every morning however I love every thing else about being a mum…. until bedtime….

23. I have an older brother, who’s a couple of years older than me. He’s always been a brilliant friend to me and I love him to bits. We used to come up with some crazy games when we were younger, which we laugh about loads now. He has the most amazing job as a curator at the V&A and I’m super proud of him. Love you Matthew!

Me and my lovely brother – we look really alike don’t we! 

24. My husband is a builder, which for someone who likes home improvements as much as me is the best thing ever. Both the houses we’ve lived in have been full renovation projects and he’s made them perfect for us.

25. I’m really really happy. Life sure has thrown some crap my way over the years. However I’m definitely a glass half full, silver lining, look on the bright side kind of person. I really think life is a wonderful thing and feel very lucky to have everything I do.

Thank you for reading, I hope you’ve learned a few new things about me and that you don’t think I’m too weird because of the comb thing!

P.s My week in pictures post will be up on the blog tomorrow and Making Monday will be up on Tuesday! Bare with me while I get back on schedule!